22 August 2014
A new study from Iran suggests that inhaled corticosteroids in combination with vitamin D supplementation could improve airway functions in patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma.
The randomized controlled trial tested pulmonary functions (forced expiratory volume in one second) and measured blood vitamin D concentrations of 130 patients with mild to moderate persistent asthma, aged 10 to 50 years, who used an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) alone or in combination with vitamin D (a single dose of 100,000 IU injected intramuscularly plus 50,000 IU orally per week) for 24 weeks (1). The study results showed that after 24 weeks the pulmonary function of the patients who had also received vitamin D was significantly better than the lung function of the patients who used only asthma medication.
The researchers commented that there seem to be synergistic effects of vitamin D supplementation and to asthma controllers on airway functions. Vitamin D is hypothesized to have some roles in innate and adaptive immunity, inflammation reduction, and remodeling (2). Therefore, it is supposed to affect the asthma phenotype, severity, and response to inhaled corticosteroids.
12 January 2010
A new US study suggests that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and peripheral vascular disease.
1 January 2015
Until now, recommendations for adequate nutrition could only be generalized, or at best specialized for target groups like children, sportsmen and -women or the elderly. In contrast, personalized nutrition aims to define dietary recommendations and possibly appropriate products for each individual based on their genetic and physiological characteristics. These recommendations would be designed to maintain health and avert the disease risks to which that individual might be predisposed. Micronutrients are involved in specific biochemical processes at all points in the metabolic process and play an important role in regulating health and in the onset of diseases. New analytical techniques make it possible to examine and describe the influence of micronutrients in health-preserving processes. This is usually done by analyzing a combination of biomarkers so as to provide the individual with a tailored micronutrient intake recommendation.
21 June 2013
As one new nutrition survey shows, only 15% of women and 7% of men in Germany consume the five daily servings of fruits and vegetables – which constitutes an important sources of vitamins, minerals and trace elements – recommended by the German Nutrition Society.
